Touch and San Diego

After failing to hold early lead, streak ends

San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley reaches for Colorado Rockies' Nolan Arenado as Arenado slides safely into third base on a triple in the fifth inning of a baseball game in Denver on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013.(AP Photo/Joe Mahoney)

BY MICHAEL KELLY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: August 13, 2013;Last modified: August 14, 2013 10:46AM

DENVER — Nick Hundley homered and drove in two runs, Will Venable had three hits, and the San Diego Padres rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 7-5 on Tuesday night.

Jedd Gyorko also went deep for the second straight night for the Padres, who rebounded from a 14-2 loss to the Rockies on Monday.

San Diego beat the Rockies for just the fourth time in 15 games this season.

Charlie Culberson had two hits and two RBIs, and Nolan Arenado and DJ LeMahieu also had two hits each for Colorado, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

The Padres got the win despite an uncharacteristic start from left-hander Eric Stults, who was 3-0 with a 3.35 ERA in six career starts against the Rockies. He had been dominant against them this season, going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA, but that changed in a hurry.

The first four batters reached for Colorado in the first inning, with Wilin Rosario delivering a two-run, bases-loaded single to center to make it 2-1. One out later, Todd Helton and Culberson had RBI singles to stretch the lead to 4-1.

The four earned runs in one inning were double what Stults had previously surrendered in 16 innings against Colorado this season.

San Diego couldn’t do much against Jhoulys Chacin on Monday, but the Padres jumped on Jeff Manship (0-2) in the second inning. Hundley hit a two-run homer, Stults singled and scored on Venable’s triple, and Venable came home on Alexi Amarista’s single to give San Diego a 5-4 lead.

“I just wasn’t executing anything, really,” Manship said.

“All I can take out of this outing that was positive was just the fact that I was able to get to the fifth and kind of save the bullpen. But all in all, pretty bad performance.”

It was in stark contrast to his Rockies debut at New York on Thursday, when Manship held the Mets to two runs and four hits in five innings of a 2-1 loss.

“One of the frustrating things about today was I really didn’t make an adjustment when I needed to,” Manship said.

“I’m telling myself, ‘You’re flying open’ and just not making the adjustment.”

Gyorko made it 6-4 in the third with his 12th home run.

The Rockies loaded the bases with no outs in the third but came away empty when Charlie Blackmon flied out to shallow center and Manship grounded into a double play.

Colorado got within a run in the fifth when Arenado tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly, but the Padres made it 7-5 on Ronny Cedeno’s RBI single in the sixth.

Stults left after Blackmon singled with two outs in the fifth and missed his chance for the victory. Tim Stauffer (2-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win.

Huston Street got the final four outs for his 23rd save.

Weiss said Michael Cuddyer “wasn’t really available” after returning to the team after missing two games due to an illness, but Cuddyer did pinch hit in the fifth and bounced back to the pitcher.

NOTES: Venable extended his hitting streak to 10 games. It ties the longest streak of his career. ... Rockies RHP Tyler Chatwood (elbow inflammation) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session when the team is in Baltimore this weekend.